Plaited braid for fabric trim



M. M. LAN/ GA l PLAITED BRAID FoR FABRIC TRIM Oct. 22,1957

FiledMay 28, -195e 2 Sheets-Shea?I l AFIG. 2'.

11W/Emol; Moms M. Lunga ATTORNEYS Oct. 22, 1957 v M. M. LANGA I2,810,133

- PLAITED BRAID FOR FABRIC TRIM Filed May 28, 195e zsheets-sheef 2 lINVENTOR. MORRIS M. LANGA BY; ATTORNEY PLI'IEDBRAID 'FOR' FABRIC TRIMMorris M. Langa, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application May-'218, V1956, Serial No. 587,546

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-278) My invention relates to an ornamental embroideredtrim for fabrics, and more particularly relates to a plaited braid whichis sewn upon fabric to present a pleasing and decorative raisedappearance.

In the applying of ornamental trim upon fabrics, it has been found thatthe familiar plaited or woven breads, tapes or ribbons cannot besatisfactorily used because of ytheir tendency to curl and buckle attheir extremities whenever moderately severe curvature in the pattern isimposed. These braided materials do not lie at, particularly at sharpcorners, because of the tendency of the interweaving to crowd andoverlap, thereby resulting in unsightly upthrusts, folds andprotuberances to mar the edging appearance. While it is desirable tofurther extend the breadth or width of woven trim in order to simulatelaborious embroidery and needlepoint designs, as by plaiting a pluralityof interwoven braid, excessive stitching would ordinarily be requiredbecause of the braids inability to lie flat.

it, therefore, is an object of my invention to fabricate an ornamentaledging comprised of a plurality of knitted braids which are plaitedtogether wherein the plaited assembly may be sewn upon fabric in flatand undistorted pattern with a single line of stitching.

Another object of my invention is to fabricate an ornamental plaitedbraid edging wherein random corners and indentations of any pattern willremain flat and undistorted.

Another object of my invention is to fabricate an ornamental braidedging giving the appearance of embroidery or needlepoint.

Other objects of my invention are to provide an improved device of thecharacter described, that is easily and economically produced, which issturdy in construction, and which is highly efficient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, my invention consists in thedetails of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fullyunderstood from the following description, when read in conjunction withtheaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a plaited braid embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the plaited braid sewn upon fabric to form asharply contoured pattern.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a single tubular braided element used inthe fabrication of the plaited braid.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view showing the knitted braid elementwith its loops as it is intertwined into the plaited braid.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing, wherein similarreference characters refer to similar parts, I show a plaited braid,generally designated as A, sewn in an irregular pattern upon a piece offabric material, generally designated as B.

The plaited braid A comprises a plurality of knitted tubular braidelements which are plaited together, each 2,810,133 Patented Oct. 22,1957 ice .tubular braid-.element ybeing knitted-or wovenin a series-offintermeshed loops as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 4and asfurther-describedin my United States Letters PatentNo. 2,103,406.

In Fig. 5, `Ir show the braided elements ..10 .flattened .andyintertwinedon each other in a sinuous manner to define vra pluralityyof ,inner 'radius bends Q12` where the braided elements abut koneanother, Iand a pluralityof outer Iradius bends 14,at the externalperiphery. yItis ltonbe-.observed that the inner radiusl bends 12 are inZcompression, .and `the knitted loops-are telescoped and '.bunched,.while the outer radiusvcurvcs 1.4 `are in-tension and are extended andstretched. The facility with which these knitted loops slide over oneanother at any curvature results in the braided elements lying in smoothcontours when they are flattened and intertwined into plaited braid.

In Fig. 2, the plaited braid A is sewn to the fabric B to form anornamental pattern by means of a series of stitches 16. Only a singleline of the stitches 16 is necessary and the plaited braid A rests atupon the fabric giving the appearance of embroidery, thereby simulatingthe effect of each braid loop pervading the fabric itself. The singlerow of stitches 16 passes through the fabric B and the center portion ofthe plaited braid A, as shown in Fig. 3. The elasticity of the braidedelements 10 again are utilized to accommodate stretching and compressionas the pattern proceeds upon the fabric at any break corner, orcurvature. For example, in Fig. 2, a plurality of corners 20 are formed,whereby an external llet ZtlA is defined at the greater radius ofcurvature and an internal fillet 20B defined at the short radius ofcurvature. Because of the telescoping of the loops, the sharp fillets20A and 20B are defined without distortion or overlap and the plaitedbraid A lies substantially at upon the fabric when sewed thereon withoutany upthrust, buckling, or curling. It is to be observed that although Ihave shown my plaited braid sewn to the center portion of a fabric, thisplaited braid is easily stitched to a regular edge of fabric to define apleasing and decorative scallop.

Although my invention has been described in considerable detail, suchdescription is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting,since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of theinvention is to be determined as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

l. In combination with a fabric, a plaited braid comprising a pluralityof tubular braid elements, each tubular braid element being knitted in aplurality of intermeshing loops, the said tubular braid elements beingflattened and intertwined with each other to dene a plurality of innerradius bends and a plurality of outer radius bends, the inner radiusbends being located at points where adjacent braid elements sinuouslyabut one another, the intermeshing loops adjacent the inner radius bendsbeing hunched in compression, the outer radius bends being concentricwith said inner radius bends whereby the intermeshing loops within theouter radius bends are extended in tension, said plaited braid beingsewn to the fabric in an irregular pattern having corners, each of saidcorners having an internal llet of short radius of curvature andconcentric therewith an external fillet of longer radius of curvature, asingle line of stitches passing entirely through said plaited braid andaxially extending thereto wherein the loops of the braid elements arebunched within the internal fillets and the loops of the braid elementsare extended within the external llets thereby enabling the plaitedbraid to lie flat and undistorted at the pattern corners.

2. In combination with a fabric, a plaited braid cornprising a pluralityof knitted tubes, each tube having a plurality of intermeshing loops,the said tubes being fiattened and intertwined with each other to definea plurality of inner radius bends and a plurality of outer radius bends,the inner radius bends being located at points where adjacent tubessinuously abut one another, the intermeshing loops adjacent the innerradius bends being bunched in compression, the outer radius bends beingconcentric with said inner radius bends whereby the intermeshing loopswithin the outer radius bends are extended in tension, said plaitedbraid being sewn to the fabric in an irregular pattern having corners,each of said corners having internal fillet of short radius of curvatureand concentric therewith an external fillet of longer radius ofcurvature, a single line of stitches passing entirely through saidplaited braid and axially extending therei with wherein the loops of thetubes are hunched within the internal fillets and the loops of the tubesare extended within the external fillets thereby enabling the plaitedbraid to lie at and undistorted at the pattern corners.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 395,004Scott Dec. 25, 1888 1,624,805 Rosenberg Apr. l2, 1927 2,646,671 NewmanJuly 28, 1953 2,703,406 Langa Mar. 8, 1955

